BRITNEY SPEARS

Were those pants or just sequins? As it turned out, somewhere in between. In one of the sexiest moments in MTV VMAs history, Spears stripped down from a pinstriped suit while crooning a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction," finishing in a see-through two-piece as she segued into "Oops! … I Did It Again" at the 2000 show. It wasn't the last time she got nearly naked there: she went on to do it again and again.

MILEY CYRUS

Sure, her twerking caught viewers' attention during her buzzy 2013 performance with Robin Thicke, but the frenzy also extended to the pop star's decision to perform in a skintight, flesh-colored bikini, giving the appearance she was gyrating in the nude. "You're wanting to make history," she later said of the controversy.

PRINCE

Talk about a cheeky performance! While singing in a flashy yellow jumpsuit at the 1991 show (with a matching yellow guitar and fire-blazing backdrop, of course), the pop star gave viewers a shock when he flipped around to reveal his bare cheeks poking out through a pair of chaps – making his yellow crop top seem pretty conservative by comparison.

LIL' KIM

Good luck keeping your focus on her eyes! At the 1999 show, the rapper wore an outfit that would make even Janet Jackson blush! Looking like a mermaid-inspired stripper, the star famously exposed one of her breasts with a strategically placed pasty, garnering a jiggle from co-presenter Diana Ross and a Halloween homage from Miley Cyrus more than a decade later.

ROSE MCGOWAN

She was actually just the plus-one of boyfriend Marilyn Manson at the 1998 show, but she quickly stole the show when she arrived wearing a G-string covered only by the thin black netting of a so-called "dress." Let's just say there was nothing left to the imagination with this look.